Movie notes: ‘Underworld 4’ avoids critics, to no one’s surprise

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is back with guns blazing in “Underworld Awakening.” (Sony/Screen Gems)

When a movie isn’t screened in advance for critics to prevent opening-day reviews, both critics and fans alike assume that it must be awful, and the studio knows it.

This rule sort of applies to “Underworld Awakening” (aka “Underworld 4”), which will open unscreened on Friday. And it sort of doesn’t, either.

Yes, it’s probably not wonderful — the franchise’s three previous films didn’t exactly light up the Tomatometer. But the reason Sony/Screen Gems isn’t screening “Awakening” is because it doesn’t have to. At least, that’s my guess. And the evidence seems to support that theory.

The vampires-vs.-werewolves franchise, which turns up every three years, has been a dependable brand since “Underworld” debuted in 2003. With lots of action and Kate Beckinsale in leather, it can be counted on to make $20 million or so opening weekend, good enough to rank first or second on the box-office chart, and make $45-$60 million total (and more than $100 million when you factor in the global market, which loves American action films).

Not bad for an off-season franchise that has turned up in the dead of winter ever since “Evolution” in 2006, and which hasn’t been screened for critics except for the 2003 original. And the studio discovered in 2009 that even Beckinsale wasn’t absolutely essential — the prequel “Rise of the Lycans” made $45 million ($90 million worldwide) with its supposed meal ticket in only a few brief scenes at the end.

So you can’t blame Sony/Screen Gems for treating “Underworld” fans like Paramount treated the found-footage horror fans who flocked to “The Devil Inside.” The marketing approach seems to be, “If we film it, they will come.”

And they’re probably right. Especially since Beckinsale is back in full leather regalia for “Awakening,” in which the vampires and werewolves apparently stop fighting each other and take on the humans trying to eradicate both species. The trailer certainly promises lots of the hot-‘n’-cool Beckinsale dispatching her foes in all sorts of imaginative ways.

My normal no-show rebuttal is, “Well, if critics’ screenings can’t possibly turn off hardcore fans, why not screen it and try to expand your audience?” I still think that’s a solid argument, whether we’re talking “Underworld,” “Resident Evil” or Tyler Perry. But I can’t imagine anyone who has invested time and money in the first three films NOT seeing “Awakening.” And vice versa. (I’m in the latter category).

The franchise is still fun to keep track of, mainly because its behind-the-scenes story is in many ways more compelling. Beckinsale, the 38-year-old British actress who routinely makes those “Sexiest/Hottest Women in the World” lists, dumped her beau and baby’s daddy Michael Sheen for “Underworld” director Len Wiseman, whom she met on the set of the first film in 2003. They married in 2004. This didn’t stop “Underworld” co-star Sheen from appearing in the next two films, one of which Wiseman directed (“Evolution”).

Plus she gives great quotes, like these I bumped into while checking her various bios:

From iMDB: “If someone had told me years ago that sharing a sense of humour was so vital to partnerships, I could have avoided a lot of sex!”

From AskMen.com: “I’m so fascinated by breasts because my mother didn’t have them, either. If I had them, I’d run up and down flights of stairs!”

(AskMen.com’s response: “Somehow we’ve been too busy noticing what’s right about her than to spot any problem areas.”)